I just started playing a little over a month ago and I love the game! I usually get to to go out 2-3 times a week and run 2-3 rounds on the local 9 hole course ( http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=2597 ). First couple rounds was with a run of the mill Wham-O 175 from Wally World. Next day I was at Play It Again Sports and grabbed the only driver they had, a 171g Valkyrie DX. Went back to the park and had much more success.

My stats are:

44 yoa male, fairly active. My distances vary, depending upon proper form and accuracy, but are lingering around the 200-225 mark. I have the arm capability of 300+. Hardly burning them up, but, hell, ya gotta start somewhere. I grew up throwing frisbees and the circle I ran with usually had no less than a half dozen of them at any given time, from the cheapy 90g to 165's. The only time I had ever heard of, much less played disc golf, was back in '83 at http://www.dgcoursereview.com/course.php?id=3811 when I visited my sister and her husband.

My current "bag" (I just carry them lose)171 DX Valkyrie171 Pro-D Buzzz150 DX Aviar P&A174 Elite Z Nuke 1st Run (I'm nowhere ready to use it...it was given to me last week)

My technique sucks, so my accuracy and distance follows suit. But, I've been reading the technique section and watching tons of You Tube videos so things will be changing. Question is, should I back away from the Valk and grab maybe a Leopard, Roc or Teebird to work on the form, or is the Valk and Buzz OK to learn with?

What about plastics? Should I stick with the DX or is there any benefit to stepping up to Champ/Star?

My accuracy from 15' in has vastly improved since I got the Aviar. Is the P&A sufficient or should I look at other models?

I have several local stores that carry a decent array of discs. As long as they're Innova (Sports Authority/Dick's). The local PIA Sports is getting some Discraft now. Because of this, I'd like to keep my choices to those two brands...at least until I get my feet wetter.

Hi welcome to the board. your setup is simple enough. at your distance the Z Nuke is definitely too much disc for you right now. also the 150 Aviar is weird disc. I'm sure you could throw it far with little effort but it will get tossed around something awful in the wind while you're putting. trust me I know I still have one (it was my first putter). if you like that mold stick with it but get one in the 165 to 170g weight range.

the setup of: 171 Valk, 171 Buzzz and a 171 Aviar would be a pretty nice simple setup. you may also like an XL (by Discraft) or a Stalker (also Discraft). you also may want to check out a Comet (Discraft).

The Aviar P&A is definitely a great disc to learn how to drive, I've had great success cleaning up forms of different people with it. You should get a heavier one though (170 and over is good).

The Buzzz is great, the Valkyrie... Well, it's not too bad in DX, but I'd rather recommend a Leopard, Cheetah or something else in the speed 6-7 category. Definitely leave the Nuke for later, it's not going to help you now.

DX is great especially for the molds originally designed for it (everything under speed 8 qualifies) and there really isn't too much of a reason to go premium unless the ground really eats up discs. Premiums fly more overstable and generally have less glide, leading to shorter flights. At least until you can consistently hit like 300-350' DX is plenty good enough. =)

Welcome to the boards and keep on practicing. =)

Parks wrote:If the posts on this forum are any indication, the PD is like a Teebird with sunshine coming out of its butthole so hard that it flies faster.

the XL will serve you well. the plain old Aviar is a good mold, and yes heavier is better. the Rhyno is more overstable. the Magnet will behave similarly to the Aviar but with a different grip. try them all see what you like.

How are your throws with the valk? You and I are kind of at the same 'level' of discs. I tried throwing a champion valk for awhile and couldn't get the distance on it and it flew way over-stable for me. I was thinking of switching to a DX and giving it a whirl. I was told to try a XL, Leopard, Sidewinder, and Gazelle, so those might interest you as well. I tried a XL in ESP, and couldn't quite get it to fly well, felt a little 'gummy' to me. And as far as putters, like jubuttib said, it's a personal thing, I started off w/ the A&P Aviar, but thinking of switching to a harder/heavier putter.

Ironhide wrote:How are your throws with the valk? You and I are kind of at the same 'level' of discs. I tried throwing a champion valk for awhile and couldn't get the distance on it and it flew way over-stable for me. I was thinking of switching to a DX and giving it a whirl. I was told to try a XL, Leopard, Sidewinder, and Gazelle, so those might interest you as well. I tried a XL in ESP, and couldn't quite get it to fly well, felt a little 'gummy' to me. And as far as putters, like jubuttib said, it's a personal thing, I started off w/ the A&P Aviar, but thinking of switching to a harder/heavier putter.

I like it, but since I don't really have a base of comparison I can't make an honest assesment of it. But, I also noticed it had pretty sharp fade which I attributed to my form. I'm hoping to go out tomorrow after work and try out the XL and see if it works better.

And another newb question. Is it bad etiquette to borrow a disc from the lost and found? Not grab it and take off, but just use it for a round or two and drop it back off in the box. Reason I asked is there was a JLS in the box last time I played.

I dont know about etiquette, but the XL will be just fine. yes there are many discs in that same speed/flight range but the minor differences shouldn't make or break you. More important is picking one and sticking with it till you learn it, and that skill will translate to discs you try afterward. Use the XL till its a roller then decide if you want to move on to a different mold. I would also steer clear of premium plastics for a while. ProD XL was an XLent choice

swel304 wrote:I dont know about etiquette, but the XL will be just fine. yes there are many discs in that same speed/flight range but the minor differences shouldn't make or break you. More important is picking one and sticking with it till you learn it, and that skill will translate to discs you try afterward. Use the XL till its a roller then decide if you want to move on to a different mold. I would also steer clear of premium plastics for a while. ProD XL was an XLent choice

That was a "swel" joke!

Wordgie, If you're not familiar with Joe's Flight Chart, I'd print it off and look at it. I actually keep a copy in my bag for reference. It's a nice little tool to talk about discs. Blake our fearful, I mean fearless leader on this forum makes that chart. http://gottagogottathrow.com/discgolf/p ... 05ea2945a9The valkyrie is on the verge of getting to the higher speed discs for us newbies, so some throws will go well, and others will fade left alot more. Don't get me wrong, there's alot more discs that are faster to the valk, but in reference to us, it probably would be our next goal to get that flying well. And like Swel said, can't go wrong w/ the XL either. I actually put the ProD version on my shopping list this week when I go to GGGT.

swel304 wrote:I dont know about etiquette, but the XL will be just fine. yes there are many discs in that same speed/flight range but the minor differences shouldn't make or break you. More important is picking one and sticking with it till you learn it, and that skill will translate to discs you try afterward. Use the XL till its a roller then decide if you want to move on to a different mold. I would also steer clear of premium plastics for a while. ProD XL was an XLent choice

Hijack...

I see you're from WV. I grew up in Oak Hill. Where do you play at? Seems like the choices are a little limited.

swel304 wrote:I dont know about etiquette, but the XL will be just fine. yes there are many discs in that same speed/flight range but the minor differences shouldn't make or break you. More important is picking one and sticking with it till you learn it, and that skill will translate to discs you try afterward. Use the XL till its a roller then decide if you want to move on to a different mold. I would also steer clear of premium plastics for a while. ProD XL was an XLent choice

Hijack...

I see you're from WV. I grew up in Oak Hill. Where do you play at? Seems like the choices are a little limited.